 All the nuts and bolts of how this historical destination came to be.
I LOVED this book. From the mouth of G. W. Vanderbilt's grandson, it is a first hand account of how he inherited his birthplace as a money pit, saved it from being demolished to make room for an airport, wouldn't take no for an answer, refused to be defeated by countless people who told him to give up and transformed the nation's largest private residence into a travel destination that welcomes millions of visitors through it's doors every year.
BILTMORE BOOK REVIEW
BOUGHT AS A BIRTHDAY PRESENT, MY WIFE LOVED IT, AND IS ALREADY FINISHED READING IT. LOTS OF INTERESTING DETAIL, GOOD BOOK.
Review of Lady on the Hill...
The product arrived quickly (before they even said they thought I'd receive it) and it was in perfect condition. I was very happy with my purchase!
 Hidden Agenda
Book was clearly written by a Vanderbilt fan. I disagree with another reviewer who claims the research was excellent. Much of the research was conducted with personal interviews with the family and upper-level management - hardly unbiased. Newspaper reports were used and tedious facts and figures were mined from industry magazines. This hardly constitutes thorough research.
The book spends the majority of its efforts positioning William Cecil as a rogue preservation do-gooder who overcomes all obstacles to create a successful historic home. The National Park Service is positioned as the foil for the do-gooder. The NPS and other historians, curators and preservationists all seem to have their heads in the sand according to Covington and their modes of historic home preservation are outdated, unsuccessful and downright primitive. Then comes the agenda - if something isn't done, Biltmore could be forced to become a government run historic home when Cecil dies. Inheritance taxes will be so devastating that the family will not be able to hold onto the house. Is the reader supposed to feel sorry for them? Called to action? What?
I felt as though the entire book was just a podium from which to preach the message that unless we do something to help them and moderate inheritance taxes, then Biltmore will be lost for everyone, because according to Cecil and Covington, clearly the NPS have no idea how to manage a historic property.
 First timer
First time to order a book through Amazon. I had hope for colored photos in the book. However, the thing that bothered me the most was the packaging for mailing. My book corners were bent as the packaging had no padding. I try to take care of my books and this one was already damaged and is not suitable for table placement.
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